Zurich Insurance Switzerland's gross premiums in the property and casualty insurance segment rose 7% during the nine months to $42.1 billion, Reuters reports. The improvement in the indexes is due to the increase in rates in the retail business. The insurer's solvency indicator reached 271%, exceeding analysts' expectations by 2 percentage points. Also, on October 1, the company completed the purchase of the British insurance company Beasley.